CitySuite Utility Billing/Customer Information System (CIS) allows organizations to offer citizens a blended customer self-service delivery model using telephone, Internet, mobile and wireless devices. CitySuite Utility Billing unifies customer management, billing, work management, marketing and other customer-oriented business processes. This solution improves customer service response times, provides insight about your customers, improves application integration and lowers maintenance and integration costs.
Jennifer Johnson from the City of Champaign, IL wrote in to Harris ERP Application Consultant Donna Sauve with her compliments after the City went live on CitySuite Utility Billing on the 15th of January:
“Thank you so much for the wonderful cake and coffee mugs. We enjoy working with you personally, and look forward to a continued positive working relationship as we implement the CitySuite software applications.”
Reporting
CitySuite Utility Billing has eliminated time-consuming queries with simple advanced filtering and an integrated reporting engine to provide dynamic and ad hoc reporting.
- Standard and ad hoc reporting capability
- Reports available in PDF, HTML, CSV or Microsoft Word® format
- Ability to extract information to Microsoft Excel® format
Learn more about:
Features and Benefits
- Customer and Account Management. Flexibility is designed into the application to support multiple, variable account structures for utility billing and general agency invoicing requirements. Set up and maintenance is made easy with our extensive, logical configuration parameters. This cost effective approach reduces resource requirements resulting in efficient operations while maintaining exceptional data integrity.
- Billing and Collections Processing. A sophisticated workflow engine supports the management of billing and collections. Your Application Consultant helps to configure rules to ensure that regulations and internal policies are met, and that staff time is used efficiently. The workflow engine automates delinquency notifications, service order generation and other bill management activities, significantly reducing the time your staff spends manually maintaining customer accounts.
- Automation Technology. Our module promotes revenue optimization with our integrated workflow minimizing resources devoted to routine administrative activities, so that appropriate attention can be placed on collection efforts.
- Interactive Website links enhance Utility Billing. Maps and driving directions are provided through MapQuest® links. Customer Service Representatives can verify zip+4 lookup with links to the United States Postal Service Website.
- Integrating GIS simplifies the enterprise. CitySuite Utility Billing and third party GIS systems share land management elements, reducing the overhead of managing a separate system. Synchronized GIS links maintain information integrity to the transaction processing system.
- Leverage existing office applications. Use Microsoft Office products to create notification and follow up letters. Create letters on-demand within the system, facilitated within the workflow engine. You can export any system data to Microsoft Excel® or Word®, HTML, or PDF files. Merge letters, send email, or fax to any contact in the system.
- Customer Self-Service. Citizen Access for Utility Billing allows citizens to access their utility account information over the Internet, thus providing convenience for citizens and reducing walk-in traffic for your staff.
Reporting
CitySuite Utility Billing has eliminated time-consuming queries with simple advanced filtering and an integrated reporting engine to provide dynamic and ad hoc reporting.
- Standard and ad hoc reporting capability
- Reports available in PDF, HTML, CSV or Microsoft Word® format
- Ability to extract information to Microsoft Excel® format
Learn more about:
Billing
The Billing system offers complete billing solutions that scale from the smallest residential customer to the largest commercial and industrial account. The application fully supports utility billing and agency invoicing. Plus you can automatically create invoices for fees that originate from CitySuite Community Development.
For utility billing, you can upload meter reads and automatically generate service orders as situations occur that require technician attention. The system enables flexible data collection with definable read cycles and routes and supports non-metered billing, wireless meter reading and various other special metering conditions.
Extensive collections management activities include suspending bills, adjusting meter reads or bills, budget billing and bill averaging based on user-definable periods. You can even configure multi-level messages to appear on bills for specific periods or indefinitely.
Rate schedules support bundled or unbundled rates, fixed fees and charges, flat rates and miscellaneous charges. Research for bill management and correction is facilitated by extensive drill down capability.
Miscellaneous Accounts Receivable
This module was designed to allow organizations to bill consumers for items other than utility services without affecting the customer’s utility billing account.
All of the billing and collections management features that exist for the utility bills are available for miscellaneous accounts receivable invoices, such as: flexible invoicing cycles, fixed and variable charges, collections and delinquency notifications, bill adjustments, statements and other functions.
Cash Receipting
Cash Receipting streamlines the collection of payments taken for charges within the system. Our Cash Receipting module supports several methods of payments, including check, direct debit, credit card, pay by phone, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), and high volume remittance. We provide your citizens with the convenience of multiple payment sources including counter, mail, and more. Citizens can split payments, allocate payments to funds or revenue accounts, and pay multiple accounts with a single remittance. The system automatically posts accounting transactions to CitySuite Financials.
In addition, our CCR module supports cashiering stations with real-time payment posting, and offers optical character recognition (OCR) compatibility.
Credit and Collection Management
A parameter-driven work flow engine supports the configuration and management of collection rules. Once rules and timing are set up, the system automatically runs all processes and fees as defined and Customer Service Representatives can distribute notices electronically or by mail and dispatch cut-offs.
This entirely eliminates the manual tasks needed for efficient, accurate bill and collection management.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM encompasses all aspects of interaction an agency has with its customer whether it be a new service hook up or customer service activity. Our module helps your organization improve customer relations with access to unified customer and financial data.
Customer inquiries are recorded from all sources. Account notes, attributes, history of billing and usage are all available to the service agent to provide instant, superior customer service. Clerks can generate service orders as needed during the customer service event.
Landlord Management
The Landlord Management module grants you flexibility in setting up services and managing the transfer of services between landlords and tenants.
You can view all services for all locations and generate an automatic service order for transfers of service on move-outs or other special situations. The system maintains usage history for the location for future reference.
Meter Management
Every meter record has a user-defined screen to set up tailored meter testing information and to collect test results. Flexible configuration parameters support unlimited units of measure, meter registers, ERT tracking, meter reading history and usage. Adjustments and corrections are quick and easy.
Meter Reading
The Meter Reading System allows you to automatically upload meter readings from a variety of electronic meter reading devices. Fully integrated with industry-standard meter reading systems, it also supports Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and advanced meter reading technologies. We’ve developed handheld interfaces for Itron, Radix, Sensus, Badger, Telxon, Logicon and Turtle devices. You can create online meter reading edits and exception resolution. Your field staff will enjoy the convenience of downloading route and meter information from CitySuite Utility Billing.
Rate Management
With our system, managing complex rates and multiple pricing plans is simplified by separating tier blocks and rate schedules that support one to many relationships.
New rate changes are implemented by a simple tier rate change in one area that affects all associated rates. Analyze current rate schedules using the historical information stored in the system. Rates are date sensitive so you can set up future changes for all rate types.
Service Orders
Manage service orders with the flexibility to dispatch them to user-defined locations through a variety of methods, such as printing, email and mobile devices.
You define service orders at the service level; you can create them for any requirement including meter maintenance and service starts and stops.
Citizen Access for Utility Billing
Citizen Access for Utility Billing lets customers access their utility account information over the Internet, thus providing convenience for customers and reducing walk-in traffic.
Flexible payment options, emailing of receipts, pay multiple bills with one payment and all payment tenders types accepted contribute to a full featured on-line payment processing capability.
The system maintains a history of all payment transactions, including a system recorded activity log with the login name and time stamp for each customer account.